True reader problem: reading speed can’t keep up with buying speed. 😔

Being Japanese myself, I am so honored and glad that you read and introduce Japanese literatures!! I really enjoy your contents. Thank you😊

I appreciate the diversity of authors and books you present.

I just feel the need to say this, you're my favorite booktuber!

A great japanese non-fiction book I would recommend is “In Praise of Shadows” by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki. Written in the 1930s about Japanese aesthetics and culture in comparison to western aesthetics

What an exciting collection of books! Watching your channel has really broadened my sense of classic literature, so thank you. I Am A Cat sounds particularly interesting; I love the idea of examining society from such an unconventional perspective. Lovely video, as always!❤️✨

You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you review and talk about Japanese literature! Thank you so much! You're amazing

Dandelions, Toddler Hunting and Other Stories, and Masks sound really interesting. also, it's great that you mention the translators every time! they're still underappreciated

I love the pumpkin patch growing behind you, so cute!

Yay! CC! We (deaf bookworms) love to see it!

Can I just say thank you so much for adding your own subtitles to your videos recently! It's really helpful, especially for book titles and authors since the auto-generated ones aren't always accurate and my hearing impairment doesn't help whatsoever ahaha

love this haul! i recently finished Kokoro and was absolutely blown away by it and ever since then, I've decided to collect all of his works. So, it's great seeing someone else who felt like that 😭

FINALLY SOMEONE WHO KNOWS MASKS!!! I cannot stress enough how much I loved the book!! Fumiko Enchi is my favourite Japanese author like wow!! terroritory of light is also such a beautiful read, though I have to say I found reading Dandelions really tedious; it was a lot of dialogue and I feel like it didn't really go anywhere?

I love that you always mention the translators name :)

The Cactus prints are adorable

Botchan was the first Soseki book I read and I *really* liked it. Japanese literature (and, indeed, Asian literature in general) is a bit of a blank spot for me, I need to get a lot better acquainted with it.

your bookshelf is sooo beautiful!

Oh my god I love your pumpkin plushies in your background

Hey Seji. Really enjoyed your book haul in this video. I used to live in Matsuyama, where Bothchan is set. I live about 40kms north of there now. Yes, "I am a Cat" is wonderful. My friend has a guinea pig named Botchan. Keep it up.

I’m always so happy to hear about classics from around the world that I have never heard of, thank you so much for the treasure trove of books you bring to my attention!🤗🤗🤗

I learn something new every time I warch your videos. Thanks for sharing!

I think I found my favorite KZfaqr 🥰

Thanks for all the lovely Japanese content ♥️

The people-centered and emotionally heavy focus in these classics have me intrigued! So much interesting new books for my tbr :D Awesome video!

Oh man I came here right after having watched the Night on the Galactic Railroad and I liked the animation film so much. Now I need to get the book. This is actually the first video of yours I was lucky enough to run into wow. Subscribing immediately

I appreciate your videos and the way you talk about books so much! Going to add some of these to my tbr

Oh, "No Longer Human" has been on my tbr for a while now, maybe this will finally make me read this book. Also, I really want to read "Dandelions" and "Frolic Of The Beasts". Thank you for introducing them!

Love your reviews!!! Kisses from Argentina

I would never think to read Japanese literature. Thank you so much for this video I just purchased toddler hunting and other stories

Big fan of Miyazawa, highly recommend. “Watch well and listen closely. Hold the learned lessons dear.”

Why have I not heard of your channel before today?! Such a good video. Now, I'm off to your main channel to binge watch more of your videos. Toodle pip! :)

Great timing! I was looking for new Japanese literature/authors to check out so this video was perfect!

thank you for always talking about so many different books

Ahh I love seeing your videos pop up on my feed!!! Your so inspiring to watch and I love your thoughts on everything. Also the outfit showing off you do before is so nice like I love your clothes :)

Your videos are always so refreshing! Sometimes it feels like I'm hearing everyone talk about the same few books but you always talk about books I've never heard of!❤️❤️

I love your diversety 😍😘

The frolics of the beasts sounds like it might share some themes with the Sedish classic "Doctor Glas" by Hjalmar Söderberg, which has a similar love triangle. It has one of my favourite quotes: “People want to be loved; failing that admired; failing that feared; failing that hated and despised. They want to evoke some sort of sentiment. The soul shudders before oblivion and seeks connection at any price.”

Oh my goodness I just discovered your channel and you are the cutest person on the planet!!! I love your videos.

A lot of these sound pretty good. I've read Night on the Galactic Railroad. I really liked it. The movie version adds some odd extras, but gets the feeling/vibe right all along the way. That said, I've read "I am a Cat" (mentioned in the Botchan section) and hated it. If you think it's about cat antics, it's not. It's mostly a bunch of men talking, as I recall. Not for cat lovers like myself.

I am currently obsessed with Japanese literature. I read The Territory of Light a couple of years ago and it has stuck with me. It was such a beautiful story. I'm reading The Memory Police at the moment and I can't wait to read more amazing books. Thanks for a great video. xx

You always introduce us to lesser known japanese books and you speak eloquently ❤❤❤

Thank you! I bought "I am Cat" many many moons ago. Always appreciate your diverse list of authors and literature!

So many books to add to my TBR! Also recommend anything by Akutagawa Ryunosuke

Girl... You are so gorgeous 😘 Now I'm going back to the video, thank you for coming to my Ted talk 👏🏻

Partly because of your channel I decided to diversify my reading and also I'm planning to read books of Japanese authors in the future 😻

Thank you for the video. All of these books sound quite moving. In particular, Dandelions, The Frolic of Beasts, and Toddler Hunters and Other Stories caught my interest. Perhaps also In the Shade of Spring Leaves. I'm not a huge fan of biographies as I find they can be quite dry, especially compared to autobiographies or memoirs, but the inclusion of her diary entries and short stories makes it seem like it would be quite good.

This video came at the perfect time for me! I recently realized I had read nothing from the Japanese canon, and was searching for some good places to start. I will take all these books you mentioned to heart, especially since you emphasized woman authors, and that’s always something I like to focus on. Thank you!

I love that jumpsuit. So many excellent and interesting books.

These all sound so good. I'll definitely be getting some of these.

I have to say thank you for the storygraph recommendation. That site is fantastic and I’m completely obsessed with it. So much better than goodreads and it’s not even out of beta yet. I imported my library from goodreads, and I’m getting better recommendations than I ever got from there.

All of these seem so interesting.

Botchan has been on my TBR for a good while now, but I want to read more Japanese classics, so this video was a great list of "recommendations" for me. Thank you!

I can’t wait to see your reviews on these. 😍 My partner is obsessed w Pewdiepie who happens to be a fan of Japanese literature, so we’ve actually been meaning to buddy read a Japanese classic!

Awesome video! Yukio Mishima is one of my favorite authors, if you haven’t already I definitely recommend his books in the Sea of Fertility saga. Spring Snow stays as one of the most visceral reads I have experienced!

Love the cactus outfit! Japanese books are really hit and miss for me, I'll have to try some of these out!

I needed this today. I found out that I am going to be teaching Eastern History this year. :)

Love your Channel. From Brazil ❤️🇧🇷

If you haven't yet, you should read The Pillow Book. It was written by Sei Shonagan (I think that's how to spell it. It's been a while since a read the book) and she's very cool and interesting.

Love your videos 😍😍

I can't wait to see what you think of these! I really need to diversify my classics

I hope you have a better time with Dandelions than I did. I read it last month and hated it and found it depressingly boring. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Japanese literature but I'm not a fan of Kawabata and Dandelions was a real sleeper. Territory of Light is an excellent look at single mothers in Japan but this books is excellent in portraying how being a single mother doesn't make you a saint. You mentioned that Tsushima is Dazai's daughter but you'd be interested to know that Tsushima's own daughter is currently a nominee for a literary prize as well. It runs in the family! Fumiko Enchi is an excellent author. Her The Waiting Years was also lovely.

I Am a Cat is absolutely wonderful! I hope you can pick it up soon.

This video is in good timing. I was looking into classic Japanese literature just a few days ago. I have "I am a Cat" and I'm on my library's waiting list for "Memory Police" (4.5 month waiting period 😭). Thanks for recommendations.

Wow, haven’t heard some of these mentioned since my Japanese Literature classes. 😍 Mishima-sensei’s work is always worth the time. If you can get access to the Noh play that inspired it (Motomezuka), it adds new levels to the reading. My favorite of Mishima’s work is The Sound of the Waves. I’m looking forward to your reviews of these books.

you're like a female chidi but with the confidence to be comfortable in your own skin i'm 🥺🥺

So many great books and that jumpsuit is adorable! I kind of want it all, haha. I need to get to Botchan since I've owned it for waaaay too long. I so want to read I am a Cat as well! I'm excited to hear your thoughts on all of these.

All those books sound so interesting 💚💚

thanks so much seji for a great haul~ can't wait to hear your thoughts on these!

i'm reading a murakami novel right now which always gets me in the mood to read more japanese literature, so this video could not have come at a better time for me :D thank you for the interesting recs! i think i'll try and pick up I Am a Cat next 👀

I know its not that kind of channel, but I would love to see how you do your hair. It's so pretty and well done! 😍

Definitely want to read more from Yukio Mishima. His earlier novel, The Sound of Waves, is one of my favorites! A lot of these authors are on my radar and I will be checking out your reviews in the future 😊 ~Laura

I have been on a no-buy for August. I had "eyes bigger than my stomach" as my Mom would say in July. But I just finished a couple of recs that I got from you! I read Iola Leroy and Passing and really enjoyed both of those. Passing got me with a surprise ending. :) I want to read "I Am a Cat!" That sounds cool. Do you have any pets, Seji? I already have Rashomon on my list thanks to another of your videos.

I'm definitely buying all of these! Big fan of Mishima.

Have you ever read As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams? It's written by a Japanese woman from olden times and is a travel journal. It's been on my to-read list for a while.

Oh, what an interesting haul! I'm not sure if I'll read some of these books, but you make me curious about them with the way you introduce them! So I'm looking forward to possible reviews :) I think I see if there are German translations available, this might help with narrowing down the list of potential reads, it's always easier to read classics in one's first language :'D

botchan is my favourite from soseki. the izu dancer is a great short story, along with Akutagawa's in the grove. i am so glad i found your channel. i make similar videos, so if you have time check them out.

Diversité ❤️✨

Thanks so much for the recommendations! I'm definitely going to check some of these out

You are super cool. Any chance of doing Endo (silence, deep river) in the future?? Thanks and looking forward to more japanese book reviews!

Thanks for the video, Seji! I have had my eye on The Master of Go by Kawabata for some time now, so it'll be interesting to hear about his other works from you. I also have a request - I have lately become interested in Korean culture. Could you recommend some Korean classics if you have read any? Thanks!

Your channel is gem

I might pick up “Night on the galactic Railroad”... It looks good!

Thanks for the reviews. Toddler Hunting... sounds great. I absolutely recommend A Personal Matter, by Kenzaburo Oe.

I LOVE Fumiko Enchi. The Waiting Years is my favorite. I read a few short stories by Taeko Kono for my Modern Japanese Literature course at university which were also great. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on them once you get to them :)

Dandelions sounds really interesting, thank you for all these recommendations!

i like ur thumbnail!!!

have you read kusamakura by soseki as well? i’d love to hear your thoughts on it!!

Love the outfit

I am a cat sounds very intriguing. also, I'm currently wearing a shirt with little cacti on it!

Oh I loved Kokoko, it was such an insightful read. I think you’d like I am a Cat, it’s so funny! (I know it’s satire, but still!) I’m pretty sure the cat spent like 3 pages making fun of a poor woman’s face😂

love the diversity in your books. would you ever be interested in reading indian books.

"A little under 150 pages, so nothing you can't finish in a single sitting" wow I really must have ADD like they diagnosed me... I thought they were kidding ._. it takes me a couple days to read that much and I'm an English major xD

ur jumpsuit is so pretty

Have you been to Japan? It used to be easy to get a job there teaching English. If you haven't and you can get a gig I'd highly recommend doing so. It's wonderful. I was in Hokkaido, which is in a way of speaking, a medieval place in parts yet. I mean there are, or were in 2001, still people there living an agrarian lifestyle, not many but some. Whether by choice or heredity I did not learn. I was there only three months. Many times, I have wished that I'd remained in Japan . . . . Please excuse me, I hope you do not think it too obnoxious, it seems I am full of recommendations today. When you said you were getting into love triangles, I had to think of Nabokov. One might make the claim that love triangles were his specialty: Lolita, most famously, of course, but the triangle design is washed over by the outrageous crime which is the central grotesque. Two which come blazing into mind are the searingly entertaining and monstrous "Laughter in the Dark", and the robotically Teutonic masterpiece "King, Queen, Knave", both of which were from his early Russian period. I believe that both were written while he lived in Berlin. I love talking books!

I loved "I Am A Cat"! This video made me want to re-read it!

I looove these books and your interest in Japanese literature! Excuse me if I'm behind, but have you read Hiromi Kawakami? Record of a Night Too Brief is one of my favorite books, it's very short but it has the same magical realism and dream-like setting as it sounds like Dandelions and The Memory Police do (haven't read either but I want to!)

I am a Cat is a perfect summer read !

You should read Out by Natsuo Kirino, I bet you'd enjoy it very much!!

I've got Botchan on my wishlist for my Christmas book haul so this makes me happy ✌🏽 BTW have you watched the live action of Nigen Shikkaku? It's a noir-like telling of Dazai's life.

These all seem very interesting! I think I would prefer to improve my Japanese enough to get copies from Kinokuniya in Japanese and slowly improve my reading comprehension (speech has always been easier for me). Have you ever heard of the book Sayonara, Gangsters? It was the first translated Japanese novel I read. It's a BONKERS thriller.